By Joyanne Baab

Staff Writer

“Probably the greatest problem

I see today is the disharmony

that exists within the redeemed

community,” said Royce Evans,

director of ministry residency

and the Urban Initiative. “We’re

so fragmented by denominational

doctrine and personal preference

our ability to get along with

each other is affecting the way we

are serving.”

That is why the Grand

Rapids Theological Seminary

(GRTS) has opened a new urban

ministries cohort in Muskegan.

The program began in

Grand Rapids in 2008. Since

then, GRTS included another

cohort in Grand Rapids, one

in Kalamazoo, and the present

one in Muskegan. In Lansing,

another cohort will be officially

launched fall 2010.

The urban ministry cohort

is a 6-year program designed to

provide opportunities for those

involved in full-time ministry

to receive a masters level training.

Everyone in the group, or

cohort, progress through the

program together and meet

once a week.

Evans said that one of the

great advantages about this

program is that it brings together

ministers from different

denominational backgrounds,

races and genders. The tangible

benefits of uniting such a diverse

group of people are already

being felt in the community.

“There are some people in

that room I would never have

been involved with if it weren’t

for that group. I am now aware

of the other activities that

other churches are doing and

am beginning to be invited to

participate in other ministry

opportunities,” said Stedford

Sims, student of the Grand

Rapids cohort. He is the pastor

of outreach for Sherman Street

Church, as well as working with

a prison congregation called

Celebration Fellowship.

Another student in her

fourth year, Denise Stevenson,

is pastor of women’s ministries

at City Hope Ministries Church

as well as working full time with

Pregnancy Resource Center. She

said networking with the other

students has helped them find

out about and take advantage of

the different ministries.

“A lot of us are seeing the same

issues in our communities and it

allows us to strategize and assist

each other,” Stevenson said.

Some of the issues are certainly

severe with unemployment

on the rise and gang activity

increasing in urban centers.

“There was a period of time

when we were probably burying

a gang member, a person of

gang affiliation or sometimes

just the victims on a weekly

basis,” Evans said.

Stevenson said encouragement

is needed in the community

she works with as she often

sees young girls who need to

take on a lot more responsibility

than your average teen by

either caring for their younger

siblings, or getting a job to help

support their family rather than

hanging out with their friends.

“The most striking thing is

a lack of hope,” Sims said. “No

vision for a better future. No job

prospect, no vision of a college

education and then going into

a career. What happens is the

gospel cannot just be preached.

It has to be lived out in front of

their eyes.”

Evans strongly believes that

Urban Ministries Cohorts will

be invaluable to the community.

“Outside the seminary there

are probably thousands of

schools of thoughts for the cures

to societal ills,” he said. “We

don’t have that distraction. We

profess the centrality of Christ

and a biblical worldview. So

our marching orders are pretty

clear.”